In Between
by Colonel Sarcasm
Summary: LeeSaku. After the Chuunin exams. With a bit of a different outcome for Konoha. Orochimaru is in charge. A little bit of SasuSaku flashbacks. NaruHina miniplot.
1. Chapter 1: Monologue

I never thought I'd feel this way about him. He was just a weird guy, with big eyebrows. Sasuke was the one. He always was, from day one. If you asked me where I'd be 3 years from now, back then I would have said with Sasuke. A loving family. A jonin. House by the riverside. But everything changed when the Sound Village attacked.

The country was devastated. Konoha was completely run by the sound and Orochimaru. In a last attempt to save what we once called home, a group of ninja and kunoichi banded together against Orochimaru; and lost. He was too powerful. There were too many to fight. The Sand Village was aiding them as well. Konoha was leaderless, after the death of the Hokage. Then Sasuke Uchiha stepped up.

Orochimaru had had control over all of Konoha for months now. The people were starving, and all the leaf ninja were being hunted down and killed. The natives were defenseless. Sasuke Uchiha, and the remaining Nin of the village hidden in the leaves launched a secret attack on the Hokage tower, where Orochimaru had taken up residence. Nearly all of them died. The few that remained went into hiding. Sasuke was killed. The only leader they had left was Naruto Uzumaki, who was currently breaking down. The village of Konoha had finally fallen under Orochimaru's full control.

Through the final battle for our village, we destroyed the Hokage tower. Ninja remained there for years. Trapped underneath the rubble. Few survived. After three years of reign, Orochimaru gave up on Konoha. There was nothing left to do. There was no one left alive. Except for the few Nin who were still hiding, deep underground, waiting to regroup. Ready to take their village back.

In one particular shelter, was Rock Lee, Naruto Uzumaki, and me; Sakura Haruno. That's where my story begins.


	2. Chapter 2: Kiss me in the Rain

There was nothing left. I had given up hope. Sasuke was gone. The Hokage was gone. Kakashi sensei. The entire village. Everything I had once taken for granted was taken from me.

I often found myself sitting against the cold hard wall of the shelter. Sitting. Thinking. Crying. I couldn't get Sasuke out of my head. We were meant to be. He was my one and only, and now he's dead.

The only thing that gave me comfort was Lee's efforts to keep me stable. Always trying to cheer me up. Telling me things will get better, but never mentioning Sasuke. Not one. As I can recall, after that day, the name Sasuke Uchiha never escaped his lips again. Maybe it was for my sake. Maybe it hurt him too much to say. Sasuke had become close to all of us. Especially during the time of the siege.

He and Lee had grown particularly close. They planned the attacks together. With everything riding on his life, and his position, Lee offered to take Sasuke's role once he returned to full health. Sasuke refused. He had that look in his eyes I knew all too well. He was angry. Rage. He was ready to kill everyone and everything that came in his way. I should have known then what was going to happen. The thought of that loss was to big for me to linger on then.

I wish there was an easy way to tell our story. A soft kind way. No emotion. Without the sorrow and pain that those days were riddled with. But there is no easy way. Our times were rough, and that's what makes our story worth telling. We triumphed over our losses. We fought back, and gained everything that we had lost. And after everything that that bastard did, we still had the ability to love. That's what rebuilt our village. Not strength, or intelligence. IT was our ability to keep on loving, no mater the situation.

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I wish I could go back. Make it easier on Lee. He only did what he thought would help. And it did. But then that day came…

The daily conversations with Lee had become routine. There was no more talk of loss. None of Konoha and what she used to be. We just talked. Lee and Sakura. About feelings, the weather, food, dancing. Whatever came to mind, and whatever distracted us from the terror all around us, where Orochimaru ruled.

That day I sat at the door. The tiny glass box that lead to the surface world. WE had only used it once. To get in. None of us had ever left the shelter since he came.

"It's raining."

I knew he was behind be as I spoke. Lee always appeared to talk when I was feeling that way. He said nothing as he sat down behind me. I could feel his warm breath against the back of my neck. His arms wrapped around me.

I don't know how long we sat there, starring outside at the world we once roamed so freely. I was longing to be there again. A simple kunoichi of the village hidden in the Leaves.

I could see it again. Sasuke. Kakashi. We were training. Naruto was goofing off. Sasuke showing off. Kakashi rolling his eyes at both of them. I was pulled out of this dream when I heard my name.

"Sakura."

It was Lee. His arms still bound me tightly. His words still tingling the back of my neck. The feeling came back. The feeling I never thought I'd experience again. The feeling I got when I was around Sasuke. But now it was Lee who was calling my name. Caressing my face. I could feel his cheek brush against mine as I closed my eyes.

He was going to kiss me. I knew not then. I thought he was being the same old Lee. I was still lost in that world that no longer existed.

I pulled away. He let go of my waist. His head back where it originally was. I turned to hi, his legs still strattling me from behind, in the most comforting atmosphere I'd ever felt. A tear ran down my cheek. And another.

"Lee… I can't."

He said nothing.

"I still… Sasuke…"

His face grew red. His eyes began to swell with tears he had been hiding for almost two years.

"Sasuke is dead, Sakura. Dead. He's not coming back."

And then he left. It was the first and last time I had ever seen him cry. I had no idea the feelings he had been hiding everyday for two years. Every confrontation. Every casual 'Hello' or 'Goodbye'. He loved me. And I was oblivious. Still in love with Sasuke.

If that was really love. Was it simply a crush? They say your first love never dies. If that's so than maybe he was my first love. He was everyone's first love. Sasuke Uchiha remains in out hearts to this day.


	3. Chapter 3: The First Kiss

The shelter we called home was actually pretty roomy. The elder Nin had built it long ago, when they felt Konoha was threatened by other growing ninja nations. Each shelter was equipped with three bedrooms. Most of the ninja had been separated from their original squads. Because of this, Lee, Naruto, and myself were placed closest to the Sound Village.

There was a kitchen, bathroom, and plumbing, as well. The water was pumped in and out through a secret filtered well. Every few months, the Jonin would risk their lives in pursuit of food for the other shelters. They would bring them by quickly, and silently. They performed raids on Sound crops and food hordes. Eventually, these raids became unnoticed by the sound ninja completely.

Originally, the three ninja of squad seven were all together. After the loss of the Hokage tower, the squads had to be regrouped. That's how Lee came into my life again.

It was actually years later before Lee found out the truth about the siege. The plan was simple. As a final desperate attempt to regain out village, the remaining Nin gathered in a large group and stormed the tower in a terrible, unorganized manner. That was the first mistake. The place was over run. No one knew what to do next. No one could help one another. Without a plan, everyone was quickly taken down.

That's when Sasuke had an idea. He pulled me aside in a thin corridor. In a hushed voice, he quickly explained his plan. It should have worked. I should have been stronger.

My job was to guard the hall that lead to the entrance to the Living Chamber. From there, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Lee were to attack Orochimaru directly. I couldn't do it. A sound ninja had me by the throat against the wall. I let Sasuke see me. He ran to me. I let him save me. The Sound ninja swarmed around us as he pulled me close.

I froze up. Couldn't move. Even when the ninja released me from his hold. I sank to the floor on my knees.

He looked me in the eyes. It was a different look. One I had never seen before on him. He was in love. I know that look now. Everything he did, all the times he pushed me away, was because he secretly loved me too.

But I was stupid then. As Sasuke pressed his lips against mine, he spoke the last words he ever said.

"If I don't make it out, know this."

And he stopped. The emotion was drained from his face. He said nothing as he fell to the ground. Pierced by a kunai, through the heart.

"I love you."


	4. Chapter 4: The Empty Wall

The days had grown darker, colder. It was only a short time before the shelters became pitch black by day, and freezing cold by night. Our meals became candlelit, as our eyes adjusted to the darkness. The clouds high in she sky, blocked the sun. Each breath became hard. The very air inside the shelters became stale. The ninja inside grew hopeless, but restless. Each one of us still bore the desire to take our village back. We waited for the day when the Jonin had prepared an attack. That day never came.

To this day I know in my heart, Lee's optimism is what kept us going. Naruto and I had none left. We were fully prepared to live our lives inside these shelters forever. Never again smelling the sweet scent of the asphodels. The crisp feel of the autumn wind. It seemed unattainable. A dream once so alive, gone into the deep darkness of where out hearts used to be.

I can tell you now that none of us have fully recovered. The troubled past still lies in the backs of our minds. In the deep places we all deny exist. It motivates everything we do. To keep Konoha out of the hands of another tyrant. The day the village hidden in the leaves felt the crushing grip of the Sound village leave its throne was never was never a true victory. We had to rebuild. Repopulate. Start over again. Konoha was once a world power. And we had to begin its reign again.

It was cold again, as usual in those times. The typical meal of cold soggy rice balls was old to all of us. We had nothing but rice and vegetables for sometime. Our immune systems grew weak. The small area we called the kitchen stank of rotting vegetables. In the darkness, it was hard to distinguish the ripe from the rotting. One would more than likely pick up an old moldy cabbage, than a new ripe one. This lead to a good bit of starvation. We were malnourished, but it was the best our Jonin's could do. The risk f finding food was higher than your own life. If you were caught, you gave up the secrecy of all the other shelters. The entire community would be in jeopardy. That's why we only sent Jonin. That's why they only left once a month.

Lee had never show up to eat. It was difficult at the time to tell why. After scraping down my own meal, I grabbed his and headed for his 'bedroom'. As I came close he turned. He was on the pile of blankets he called his bed. Just sitting. Starring.

Thinking back on it now, I think my course of action was best. I said nothing as I sat down beside him I took interest in the wall he seemed so entranced in. It was blank. A simple clean-cut wall of dirt, with a thin layer of metal around it. The coating was dull. You couldn't see your reflection in it if you washed it ten times over. I still do not know what it is he saw in that wall. Perhaps it was a reflection of our situation. Maybe he even sought answers through it.

For hours we sat. Silently gazing at the slab of poorly crafted steel before us. My head found itself resting on Lee's shoulders. His hand found mine. We stayed that way through the night, to find ourselves arm in arm in the morning.

That was the first bright day. If it was a sign, it fooled me. I ignored the omen of the light, and looked at Lee. Still asleep. Before he woke, I broke away, and crept into my own bed, where my dreams consisted of emptiness.


	5. Chapter 5: The Healing Rays of the Sun

The days were the same. In the morning I woke with Lee in my arms. I pretended it was all the same. When I woke again the next day, the sky was black. No sign of the previous days sunlight. The joy I could see in the air had vanished. Orochimaru grew stronger by the second.

As Lee entered the 'kitchen' with his empty rice bowl in hand, we said nothing. He may have looked my way once or twice. From the moment our eyes met at the doorway, I focused my attention on the ground. He must have stood there in silence for some time. I left and came back and hour later. He was still at the 'sink.' Starring into oblivion. Thought it may not have been so long as I thought. Time was hard to tell in those days, and my memory is getting foggier.

It had been long since the trauma of the preliminaries, but as Lee moved about the shelter from day to day, I noticed something. A limp in his right leg. There had obviously been no reason for Lee to be hurt after so long. It was two and a half years later, and we were trapped inside a shelter. Harm Free.

I realize now what I had been unknowingly doing to him. With every second I doubted him, turned him away, he grew weaker. With every glance I avoided, his limp grew stronger. Soon his arms began to ache. He lay in bed all day, wondering why he suddenly couldn't move.

I didn't know what to do. Naruto and I took turns in keeping him company. Bringing him meals. Elevating his painful limbs. For 3 months his physical condition deteriorated. I was running low on morale. He was running out of time. I woke one morning to find myself in complete darkness. A small candle was lit by Lee. I headed over to him in the pale light. He was awake as well, but by the looks of it, it had been long since he had slept.

I laid my body down next to his. I could feel his arms as they barely mine. We were without tangency, but we felt connected. My hand found his. Lee's body faced mine. We were now eye to eye, and our noses were only seconds away. The look in his eyes told me what he wanted, and I wanted it too.

Giving up Sasuke was hard. Over the years I had to remember him, his memory faded. He became a distant ghost. As if he meant nothing to me anymore. I was moving past mourning, and got onto forgetting. Something I never thought I could do. Forget about Sasuke Uchiha. The man I once called the love of my life.

Now Lee was before me. Our hands were still together. One simple movement could take Sasuke out of my heart forever, but I wanted it. I craved it. I needed it. I needed Lee. I needed him to hold me in his arms and tell me it's going to be okay. I needed to be with him. Than and forever.

Our lips brushed gently at first. His were soft and dreamy. Everything I ever could have imagined. It was perfect. We laid there, lips locked to one another, when I felt his arm around my waist. He had gained feeling again. Soon I found myself removing his jumpsuit. My headband fell to the floor as my dress was lifted high above my head.

That morning I could see the sun again. Lee could walk. For every moment we were together, the sun shone an extra sparkle through the morning dew.


	6. Chapter 6: Some will seek forgiveness,

To completely tell out story, I have to go back a little further. Back to the second task of the Chuunin exams. It was a survival exercise combined with combat training. Each remaining team was given either an Earth or a Heaven scroll. They were then given a few days to obtain the other scroll, and make it to the tower in the middle of the forest, with all team members still alive.

At this point I didn't really know Lee at all. He was just that kid that would do that creepy heart thing in the first exam.

One of the first warm days in a long time. I knew that the day was going to be special from the moment I woke up. The shelter seemed to glow. Lee was sitting in the corner, catching his breathe from his morning 1000 pushups.

As I made my way into the kitchen, I looked around. Everything was clean and in place, as usual. Something else caught my eye. It had been so long since I had seen one. They were never to be found inside the shelters, and we were never allowed out of them. It was like seeing a lost dream, just in arms reach. A four-leaf clover. Right outside the door.

It was our third day in the forest, and I was losing hope. A young ninja, but older than ourselves, joined us. I'm not sure now why he left his team, why he chose ours, or what our scroll situation was, but Sasuke trusted him, so I did too.

We stopped for a rest on out journey to the tower. The trees were tall, and provided excellent hiding. I sat twirling a small four-leaf clover in my hand. It was given to me the night before; he came to me when everyone else was sleeping. He pledged his love again, and a warning that he didn't trust this stranger. After what he had just proved only hours ago, I should have believed him. He risked his life before ninja beyond his skill level, for me. The clover he gave me was a symbol. A symbol of himself. He would always be there. There to bring me luck.

Naruto was still sleeping. Lee was continuing his training. It was nor or never. The opportunity wouldn't present itself again if I didn't take then.

It was hard to leave the shelter without being noticed. The door was almost silent; you had to be listening for it to hear it. I crept silently up the hall on the other side of the shelter. The clover was there. It took me no time at all to find it, but it took me longer to get back 'home.' The sound ninja appeared.

After the preliminaries, I visited Lee everyday. The hospital wasn't a suitable place for healing. Everyone was sad. Too many people dying. Too much white. Too much red.

On the first visit I brought him a flower. Each time that one died I would bring him another, and another. I couldn't bear him waking up to a dead, wilting one. To know that someone just came and left, like you didn't matter quite enough. Not after everything he did for me.

Once he came to, I brought him something else. Something I know he carries to this day. He likes to pretend it's been long gone, but I know its still there. The four-leaf clover beneath his leaf village headband.


	7. Chapter 7: Others Escape

I was trapped there for 30 minutes. Hiding in the leaves and grass. The sound squad seemed to be procrastinating; they mentioned something about an attack. Something about the village hidden in the grass. They didn't move until I dropped my kunai. It was nothing more than me being prepared, but I got nervous, and almost got killed. After a few moments of silence, the sound of my heart beat growing faster and stronger, they seemed to give up. The Nin left the area, and I climbed back into the shelter.

Lucky for me, no one noticed my absence. Naruto was just waking up when I shut the door. Lee was off… doing something…

When I arrived in his room, he was in a handstand, doing pushups against the wall. A smile grew on his lips the moment I entered. I can remember it perfectly, to this day. It was a gift I would never forget.

Cold, it was raining. I sat in the kitchen with Naruto, and Sasuke. I remember that moment for a long time. The day I sat with just Naruto and myself was the day it hurt the most. Gai had come. He came to replace Sasuke. To replace him with Lee.

It was then that it really hit. I knew nothing would ever be the same. We had to move on. Without Sasuke. When Gai left, and Lee and I sat on the floor across from one another, starring at the ground, he once again tried to comfort me. Though he said no words, he spoke to me like I had never known to exist.

With his right hand he lifted my chin. A single tear ran down my cheek. He wiped it away. Then with his left hand he reached behind him. A four-leaf clover. Extended his arm, and gave his heart to me again.

The sun shown down on Lee with amazing force. There was only on small window, the door, yet I could see every line in his face, every once of joy in his eyes.

He came down from his blood rushing position. As I sat next to him, we greeted happily.

"Sakura."

"Lee."

There was never a moment in my life again where I was so happy just to talk to one person. Not even to Sasuke. I took his hand in mine, and placed the four-leaf clover in his. Before he could look, I gave him a kiss, on the cheek. To prevent himself from blushing anymore, he opened his hand. Then his face was in complete disbelief.

"Sakura, What have you done?"

And then it was the day of the final Chuunin exam. Both Lee and I had been eliminated, rather unfairly in my opinion, during the preliminaries. However, we both wanted to watch our friends succeed.

It was an amazing shock to watch Naruto fight. He was better than I had ever known him to be, when did he learn so much? When did he get stronger than Neji Hyuuga? Sasuke's match had been delayed for far to o long. The crowd was getting rowdy, and I was getting anxious. Lee had shown up, crutches and all, with Gai sensei, to witness the final match.

Just as they were about to call it off, and force Sasuke to forfeit, he showed up. There was something different about him. Not just his long, unkempt hair, or his new techniques, it was bloodlust.

I didn't understand. I had risked my life, to show Lee I shared the feelings he had been bursting to express for two and a half years. Now he looked as if I had just ripped out his heart and handed It back to him.

"Lee. I… What's the matter?"

I was confused. What was wrong with my gift? Was it so terrible to express my feelings for him, when I for so long, had to swallow his? The look in his eyes told me that he still loved me. That's why I was puzzled. Bewildered. Did he not know what I was saying? Did the clover have some secret meaning I knew nothing about?

"How could you risk your life for this? You now what would happen if they found you."

"But they didn't, and I did it for you Lee. Because I love you."

"If you really loved me, you would have stayed safe. You would have stayed inside. Have you forgotten what they did when they found Gai sensei?"

And then I knew what was wrong.


	8. Chapter 8: Ready or Not

Every time Sakura tells this story she forgets to mention my part. Caught up in her memories of Lee. I had as much pain and sorrow in this as anyone. If not more. I lost two people I loved, and had to watch them move on without me.

I still liked Sakura the day we were paced in that shelter. It was more like a prison. The funny thing was, I tried for so long to convince myself it was only a crush. Immature feelings that would never go anywhere. She only felt hate for me, and love for Lee.

Everyday I had to watch in silence, as she grew closer to him. He was so smooth, acting like he just wanted to comfort her, but all he really wanted was to make her love him. Sasuke's death meant nothing to him. The time they spent together, planning, plotting, only made them more competitive. This was right under my nose and couldn't say a word about it. Sakura wouldn't believe me anyways. Then she would hate me even more. I couldn't bear the thought.

That morning she left the shelter, I was watching. She only thought I was asleep. I became stronger each day, pretending I was else where, when really my eyes were always on Sakura. Watching, waiting. Waiting for something that never came.

The nights they spent together, I saw them. Each night I walked to her bed, just watching. Watching her sleep. Then she started sleeping in Lee's bed, with him. I watched her there too. Every night I tried my hardest to ignore the other man who held her in her arms. The man that wasn't me. I watched her sleep with her new lover, and I did it every night.

Breakfast was routine. Sakura sat to my left, Lee to my right. Holding hands underneath the table, as if I didn't already know. As if I wouldn't have found out. Secret smiles across the table when they thought I wasn't looking. Each day my heart broke a little more.

Then one day, Sakura wasn't there. Lee said she was still sleeping. I didn't trust him, but I knew I couldn't go see her then. As much as I wanted to, but eh seemed to be watching me the same way I had been watching her. Every move documented inside his memory. He knew. Somehow he knew I still felt for Sakura. He knew it was stronger than it had ever been before, grown into a deep passion and strong enough to threaten what they had.

"I've seen you. The way you watch her."

We were interrupted. The Jonin were here. But why? It was to early for food. It had only been a week since our last supply. There must be something wrong. Something very wrong.

There was. Kurenai-sensei came in quickly and glanced around with the worst pain in her eyes that I had ever seen. There was guilt written all over it.

"Where's Sakura?"

"Still sleep--- Oh, no. There she is."

Sakura came into the kitchen and sat down with the both of us, as we listened to the news.

"The Jonin have been sent to every shelter. There is an emergency. We're regrouping."

The look on her face told me that she was no more prepared for this than we were.

"Where?"

"Here. It's the safest location, the farthest away from where it happened."

My eyes grew wide. The something hit all of us. The sound were involved in this. Lives were in danger. Something was going on that couldn't be stopped without the Genin?

"Yesterday,"

Kurenai started. Tears formed in her eyes as she tried to continue. All she managed was a stutter before tears started falling down her delicate face.

"The sound. They found us. Kiba, Hinata, and I. We couldn't save her. By the time we had our own opponents killed, they had already had Hinata bound, and on her way to … there."

Kurenai put her head in her hands and let all of her emotions out. Then there was a knock. 6 others came inside. Kiba, Ino, Shikamaru, Asuma, and 2 other Chuunin that I didn't recognize. Soon after, the rest arrived. Of the leaf Nin who were in the ranks for the chuunin exams, only 10 of us were left. So many were gone…

Then Asuma stood up. He was the only one left who was capable and willing to be a leader now.

"You all know what they'll do to her. We need to get her back. Now."


	9. Chapter 9: A New Wind

I hit the cold hard floor. Who knows how long I had been out of it. The air was thick and humid, and everyway I turned I could smell nothing but the foul stench of burning corpses. Then I remembered what had happened.

It was early in the morning. Kiba wasn't even up yet. Though he normally did stay up late into the night. Kurenai and I could hear them coming. Kiba joined us with Akamaru at his side soon after.

They just bust in as if they owned the place. Eight of them. Eight against three and a dog. It was hopeless. It was over before it began. My Byakugan didn't help at all. They were too fast for me to keep my eyes on. They had me bound within minutes. Looking back all I could see were four bodies on the ground. My squad looking back at me.

Then in a new cold room. I was brought there twice a day for questioning. They had my fingers spread until I spoke, but they never got the words from me they wanted to hear. I spent so long running and hiding. Never sticking up for myself. Now was the time to stay strong. For my village, my friends. For Naruto. Despite how little we conversed in those times, I always saw him looking down on me, like I was weak. Not weak, a disguise.

There was one thing that I found comforting inside my little room. Hoping one day that they would just kill me. The sound ninja were not like those in Konoha. They respected me as an adversary despite my previous lack of ambition and strength. They treated me like I were a Jonin, and I could easily kill all of them in a heartbeat, if only I were set free. They treated me like a Hyuuga.

I spent my whole life hiding behind my family name. Never reaching for my full potential. Always running away, as if I could escape anything as long as I was frightened enough. Someone would come and save me. I was a main branch Hyuuga. Now I was in a place where my captives saw me as a threat. They saw me like I had never cowered in fear. Like I had gone on to become a great ninja, and defeat hundreds of opponents. And I didn't want it to end, I needed it. They gave me a feeling of acceptance; something my family never gave me. Not even once.

With each interview they asked me the same questions.

"Where are the rest of you?"

"Where are they hiding?"

As if I knew. Otogakure was ruthless. Not a day went by when they casually ignored or forgot an interrogation. Many days, it got up to four or five. My fingernails were left with traces of bamboo each night. My throat raw from the screams they loved to hear. But I didn't want to leave. I wanted to be here forever. Treated like a normal person. They were my family now.


End file.
